Ugandans concerned at reports of Ebola cases in the country

Three cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Uganda, a neighbouring country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, officials said on Wednesday June 12.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that a 5-year-old boy had been diagnosed in Uganda, apparently after crossing over from the DRC. WHO officials said it was the first Ebola case in Uganda during the ongoing outbreak in the DRC.

Uganda’s health ministry said the boy’s grandmother and a 3-year-old sibling were also diagnosed with Ebola and were now in an isolation unit, adding the 5-year-old had died.

“The government has not done enough to sensitize people about Ebola because I think the acknowledgement should have started from the rural areas direct, and then it comes to the what? to the urban centres,” said Kampala resident, Sarif Lubogo.

“As per now, yeah I’m safe because I haven’t seen any symptom of Ebola but I think the government should also continue to sensitise people about the Ebola. Since they have confirmed some three cases as per now it means we are not safe,” said Kenneth Mwebesa.

The viral disease spreads through contact with bodily fluids, causing hemorrhagic fever with severe vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding.

The current Ebola epidemic began in August 2018 in eastern DR Congo and has infected at least 2,062 people, killing 1,390 of them.

The worse Ebola outbreak took place in West Africa, where the epidemic infected 28,000 people and killed 11,300, mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.